Saturday, 31 July 2010

Exciting Times

Sometimes it would be really handy if there were a few more hours in each day. There are so many exciting projects happening within my life right now that I am having problems balancing them out. Changes at the art of dance deserve a blog on their own so you will have to wait for full details of the art of dance re-launch happening from 31st August 2010, you may want to put Saturday 4th September into your diaries.

Aside from the art of dance I have been working hard, with my husband and the rest of the PDC team, to finalise the launch of the Pole Dance Community Advancement and Accreditation Programme which goes live on Monday 2nd August. The AAP is the latest pole dancing passport for all pole dancers across the globe and it allows them to officially record all of their pole dancing achievements including general pole dancing classes, master class attendance, competition achievements and gradings. UK pole dancers also get free Personal Accident cover included with their booklet. I can't wait to start getting my booklet filled up with my list of pole dancing achievements spanning the last 6 years! You can buy your booklet now via the PDC website or from a PDC approved pole dance school such as the art of dance in Plymouth. Don't climb a pole without one!

I know that a lot of art of dance pole dancing students have been asking me for copies of our syllabus or print-outs to help them with learning the moves; now you can access the PDC free on-line international pole dancing syllabus (please be patient when first loading the page as it is huge!!).

So with both the PDC and the art of dance consuming much of my time I have still managed to squeeze in some lovely family moments as my Cousin Val is over from Beirut and her parents (my aunt and uncle) are over from the States. We have a big family meal tomorrow with 18 family members dining at the Crooked Inn at Trematon (see picture below). I am so looking forward to it. It has been a pleasure to show off Plymouth to my family and within the last 10 days we have managed to dine at many of my favourite eateries including the Mussel Inn, The Seafood and Pasta Bar, The Seco Lounge and Chandlers.

So, I will blog again very soon and will look forward to sharing all the new art of dance news within the next few weeks. I must apologise to our existing students for the increased dust and dirt due to the builders but I am sure that all the hard work will be worth it. Best I disappear of to do some more work and spend some more time with the family!

6 comments:

Claire
said...

Is this a qualification or something needed by instructors to teach? Its seems like people will be paying for something they can get for free on wikipole and why not carry on recording your own progress as you always have? Why should people pay you £30 a year for a posh note book to write down what they have done??There is nothing new here, as mentioned before wikipole gives all the info for free. I dont really understand the benfit of this apart from belonging to some kind of gang??With instructors being awarded level1, 2, or 3, who makes that decision and what qualifications do they have to do so?Another case of someone trying to own the pole dance world and look more important than they actually are.

There are many reasons why we have launched the AAP. Firstly I should mention that the syllabus is a free resource as is wikipole. The difference with the PDC syllabus is that there are levels of difficulty assigned to each move. By agreeing on levels of difficulty we can use this model to help fairer judging and grading throughout the industry.

The AAP is an optional scheme not a compulsory scheme so no-one has to join if they don't want to.

The idea of grading instructors has 2 purposes, firstly it helps members of the public find an instructor with the correct levels of insurance in place and it assures the customer that the pole school will follow the PDC code of conduct. Secondly it allows instructors to stand apart from those with insufficient experience to teach pole dancing.

The grading of instructors is laid out within the AAP section of the PDC website and we start the grading process next month.

We have received an overwhelmingly positive response from the vast majority of our approved schools who fully support the AAP concept.

All decisions have been passed via our approved schools to ensure that all aspects of the AAP are democratic and in the best interests of the entire industry.

I hope I have answered some of your questions? If you need further advice simply e-mail myself or on of the team at info@poldancecommunity.co.uk

I have been instructing for 2 years and have fitness qualifications but no specific pole qualification, so where do I stand? I still don't understand how instructors are graded and by whom so that it is an objective decision? Surely not all the approved schools look at everyone that applies for grading? When you get a degree for example, a proffessor of that subject grades you?

If you have more than 3 years pole dancing experience (e.g a year as a student and 3 years as a teacher) and you can comply with the PDC code of conduct then you automatically get Level 1 status. Level 2 can then be applied for.

Your Level 2 application needs to be supported by at least 2 other PDC approved schools and you also submit a CV containing all your pole dancing experience as well as any other skills/qualifications that may set you apart as a more experienced teacher (e.g you may have an exercise to music qualification, performing arts degree or be a yoga teacher).

We also look at things like master-classes attended, competition experience/success as well as student testimonials and pole dancing ability.

All Level 2 applications will be decided by our existing PDC approved schools so that the decision is not just about who knows who but is fair and transparent!

We do recommend the Pole Passion and Vertical Dance qualifications as good examples of continuing professional development but they are not essential.

What we want is for members of the public to be able to identify a good school as well as finding the right instructor for them. We want good instructors/schools to stand apart from those merely cashing in on the industry (e.g 6 students per pole/ £30 per student, no warm up and cool down, inverting on the first lesson etc)

The best option is to e-mail info@poledancecommunity.co.uk so that myself or one of the team can answer any queries and send you the correct details for applying. Just mention in your e-mail whether you are looking for PDC approval for your school or simply wanting to take part in the AAP.

Sam Remmer

About Me

Healthy living, healthy outlook. Sam is the proprietor of the Art of Dance pole dancing school, born and bred in Plymouth. Sam says: "I have always loved the city, despite what others may say about it I think Plymouth is a fantastic place to live. We are extremely lucky to have both beautiful coastline and gorgeous moorland as well as stunning rivers." Sam blogs on issues of health and fitness in 21st century Plymouth for the www.thisisplymouth.co.uk website.